Learning American Sign Language: Levels I & II--Beginning & Intermediate (2nd Edition) (Spiral-bound)

~ Tom L. Humphries (Author), Carol A. Padden (Author), Rob Hills (Illustrator), Peggy Lott (Illustrator), Daniel W. Renner (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

American Sign Language is a rich and complex language. Recently declared as an official language and recognized by 48 states as a foreign language, more and more high school teachers across the country are teaching American Sign Language as an elective. Learning American Sign Language: Levels I & II -- Beginning &Intermediate is designed to prepare teachers to successfullyinteract with American Sign Language (ASL) users. Lessons are structured around language needed for common-life situations, and examples are presented in the form of dialogues coupled with grammar and vocabulary instruction. Information is also included about the culture of deaf people in the United States. Learners will discover that the book: *Contains lessons designed around the conversational language needed for common life situations. *Illustrates hundreds of sentences and vocabulary with over 2,000 high quality colorized drawings that aid in study and memory. *Contains over 100 grammar and cultural notes, 72 exercises, and charts of the American Manual Alphabet (Finger spelling) and ASL number system. *Teaches the rules of ASL in a natural order that is predictable and compatible with everyday language of native users of American Sign Language. *Incorporates information about the cultural lives of Deaf people in the United States. *Is supported by a video demonstrating all the conversations and important structures in the text. Order the Video! Video to Accompany American Sign Language, 2/e Order No. 0-205-27554-0 American Sign Language students will find themselves captivated and entertained by this state-of-the-art Video that presents all 72 dialogues and each key structure from the text in a clear and natural way. Four internationally known Deaf actors animate the dialogues bringing life to the illustrations in the text allowing students to preview and review instructional materials at home to enhance their classroom learning. About the authors: Tom Humphries is Associate Director of the Teacher Education Program and also teaches in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently coordinating a program to train teachers of deaf children using a bilingual approach. Prior to this he taught at Gallaudet University in the Department of English for several years and later served as an Associate Dean for the San Diego Community College District where he coordinated the development of an ASL program and an interpreter-training program. He holds a Ph.D. in Cross Cultural Communication and Language Learning. Dr. Humphries is co-author with Carol Padden of Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture and several other books and articles related to ASL and the culture of Deaf people. Carol Padden is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego where she teachers courses on language, culture and media. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and received a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego. Her recent research includes studies of reading development in young deaf children and she has written extensively about the cultural lives of Deaf people in the United States. She received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, in addition to numerous other awards and grants for her work. In addition to the books she has co-authored with Tom Humphries, she has published several other books and articles on American Sign Language structure. Humphries & Padden (Learning American Sign Language, 2e).

From the Back Cover

This book is designed to help learners successfully interact with American Sign Language (ASL) users. Written by two leading authorities in the field, the 24 lessons in this book cover Beginning and Intermediate or Level I and II courses of study. Lessons are structured around language needed for common life situations, and examples are presented in the form of dialogues coupled with grammar and vocabulary instruction. Information is also included about the culture of Deaf people in the United States. The book is supported by a videotape and an instructor's manual.

Learners will discover that the text:

• Contains lessons designed around the conversational language needed for common life situations.
• Illustrates hundreds of sentences and vocabulary with over 2,000 high quality colorized drawings that aid in study and memory.
• Contains over 100 grammar and cultural notes, 72 exercises, and charts of the American Manual Alphabet (Finger spelling) and ASL number system.
• Teaches the rules of ASL in a natural order that is predictable and compatible with everyday language of native users of American Sign Language.
• Incorporates information about the cultural lives of Deaf people in the United States.
• Is supported by a video demonstrating all the conversations and important structures in the text.

Order the NEW Video!

Video to Accompany American Sign Language, 2/e
Order No. 0-205-27554-0

American Sign Language students will find themselves captivated and entertained by this state-of-the-art Video that presents all 72 dialogues and each key structure from the text in a clear and natural way. Four internationally known Deaf actors animate the dialogues bringing life to the illustrations in the text allowing students to preview and review instructional materials at home to enhance their classroom learning.

About the authors:

Tom Humphries is Associate Director of the Teacher Education Program and also teaches in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently coordinating a program to train teachers of deaf children using a bilingual approach. Prior to this he taught at Gallaudet University in the Department of English for several years and later served as an Associate Dean for the San Diego Community College District where he coordinated the development of an ASL program and an interpreter-training program. He holds a Ph.D. in Cross Cultural Communication and Language Learning. Dr. Humphries is co-author with Carol Padden of Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture and several other books and articles related to ASL and the culture of Deaf people.

Carol Padden is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego where she teachers courses on language, culture and media. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and received a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego. Her recent research includes studies of reading development in young deaf children and she has written extensively about the cultural lives of Deaf people in the United States. She received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, in addition to numerous other awards and grants for her work. In addition to the books she has co-authored with Tom Humphries, she has published several other books and articles on American Sign Language structure. Humphries & Padden (Learning American Sign Language, 2e). SMP 2004 Page 1 of 1

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 357 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education, Inc.; 2 edition (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205275532
• ISBN-13: 978-0205275533
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,141 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good sign language starter, July 22, 2005

By	Annette Cole (Klamath Falls, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very good book for learning sign language with the help of an experienced signer (or class) or with the help of the videos. The actual language of ASL is taught, not just english words. Some of the pictures are hard to figure out without the help of the video or an instructor so it would not be the best choice for self learning ASL.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars difficult to use..., January 3, 2007

By	LARRY (Capitol Heights, MD) - See all my reviews

As an ASL instructor, I found myself not really liking this ASL book. I'm constantly comparing it to Vista/Signing Naturally, not that it's a perfect book either.

First of all, it is difficult to learn 3-D signs from a book. However, you can get an accompanying DVD/VHS. However, it is not much help. The signs/models in the video are too fast for beginners to learn and pick up. This is the biggest complaint from my students.

Another thing, there isn't much cultural tidbits for beginning students. There are more grammar tidbits. Therefore, you'll get the feeling that the linguistic aspect of this book is more important than anything else. Sure, we all want you to sign correctly. However, I want my students to have equal knowledge of the Deaf culture/community.

There are about 3 exercises in each unit. There's barely any activities included to make learning fun. This book focuses on rote learning rather than meaningful learning. For me, rote learning isn't quite effective for students to learn signs.

If your teacher/class require this book, I suggest you bombard your teacher with questions about signs, grammar and culture.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pictures are sometimes confusing, June 23, 2006

By	Perkosity (Wheaton, MD) - See all my reviews

I bought this book for the ASL class I am taking. I missed one week and tried to use the book to teach myself the missed lesson. I did not understand about a third of the diagrams on how to do the different signs. I have seen some sources with explanations to accompany signs which would have made this book much clearer.